Method of forming roadbeds for railways



Feb. 4, 1930. w. P. DAY

METHOD OF FORMING ROADBEDS FOR RAILWAYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1929 Feb. 4,1930.

w. P. DAY

Filed July 15, 1929 METHOD OF FORMING ROADBEDS FOR RAILWAYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 4, 1930. w. P. DAY 1,

METHOD OF FORMING ROADBEDS FOR RAILWAYS Filed July 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 v y. m. 1

a. x a x a w ww$wv 4 v M 4 k? Patented Feb. 4, 1930- PATENT OFFIQ WILLIAM 1?. DAY, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO METHOD OF FbRMING ROADBEDS FOR BAILWAYS Application filed July 15,

This invention relates to a roadbed construction for railways and a method of forming the same. The main object of the invention is to provide a roadbed which will be impervious to water and in which the concrete or other plastic material forming part of the roadbed is caused to bond with the rails in such a manner as'to prevent cracks or crevices along the rails as a result of cars passing thereover.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roadbed construction of the character described in which the rails, ties and concrete are bonded together and the concrete is condensed and solidified so as to eliminate voids and provide a roadbed of maximum strength which will resist the vibration of the track due to heavy loads passing over the same and which will not permit water to seep in adjacent the rails.

Astill further object of the invention is to provide a roadbed construction and method of forming the same in which the track is vibratedwhile the concrete is still green or soft to cause the same to thoroughly permeate the crushed stone and to bond with the rails and ties and substantially eliminate all voids.

Further and more limited objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds and by reference'to the accompanying drawings in which Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4.and 5 are vertical sectional views through the roadbed illustrating the several steps in the method of forming the same and Fig. 6 is a top plan view illustrating the type of tie used.

' Heretofore it has been quite difficult and practically impossible to obtain a roadbed construction for railways which, will prevent water from seeping in along the rails. This has been due to the fact that the vibration of the rails as a result of cars passing thereover has caused or produced crevices or cracks in which water may enter. The water deteriorates the roadbed material due to freezing 1929. Serial No. 378,234.

and thawing action and tends to enlarge the crevices along the'rails. According to my method of forming a roadbed, I have eliminated this difficulty by vibrating the rails while the concrete or other material forming the roadbed is still green or soft; and continuing this vibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the stone and bonded with the rails and ties. The vibration of the rails also causes the concrete and stone to settle thus eliminating all voids between the particles of stone and between the rails and the concrete and stone. Moreover, according to my method I am able to use from 5% .to 15% more concrete in the same space and thus greatly increase the strength of the roadbed. Moreover, by eliminating these voids between the steel and concrete and by providing a more perfect bond between the steel and concrete I greatly increase the structures 5 ability to shed water and to resistvibration and therefore greatly prolong the life of the structure as a whole.

According to the preferred embodiment of this invention, I first provide a trench which 7 is slightly wider than the length of the standard tie and of such depth that the top of the rails will be disposed substantially level with the road surface. In this trench I arrange a plurality of blocks 1 and 2 which are preferably formed of concrete and whichmay be of reinforced concrete, if desired. These blocks 1 and 2 are arranged in the trench in pairs, as disclosed most clearly in Fig. 6. I then place upon these blocks steel ties of the twin type which are well known to those skilled in the art and as shown most clearly in Figf 6. The tie consists essentially of rail plates 3 and 4 which are con 'nected by angle bars or cross beams 5 and 6 After the ties are placed upon the blocks, the rails 7 8 are secured to the ties by means of tie clamps 9, .9 and 10, 10 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The trench is then filled with loose stone up to about the level shown in Fig. 3. Soft concrete or grout is then deposited on the top of this layer of stone which is preferably deliv ered to the trench from a concrete mixer the spout of which is indicated at 11 in Fig. 3 and which is moved forward at the rate of about one foot per minute. While the concrete is still green or plastic, and preferably simultaneously with the pouring operation, the track is vibrated by means of a. vibrator or pulsator which may be either mechanically or pneumatically operated and is preferably moved along the track from 10 to 25 feet behind the concrete mixer and at about the same rate of speed as the concrete mixer.

In Fig. 3 I disclose one type of vibrator which consists essentially of a plate or bar on which are mounted hammers 13 and 14 adapted to be reciprocated to tamp or vibrate the track. These hammers are preferably operated pneumatically although a mechanical vibrator may be used if desired. The number of blows of vibrations given to the track is preferably between 5200 and 6000 per minute. The vibrations of the track are transmitted through the ties with the result that substantially the whole mass of stone and concrete is subjected to the vibration and tends to settle and become more dense and by the time that the concrete is thoroughly permeated through the stone, the whole mass will have assumed about the level shown in Fig. 4. As the vibrations of the track are imparted to the ties, the concrete tends to flow along and between and against the rails and ties and to bond therewith. The vibrations of the rails also tend to substantially eliminate all voids in the mass and provide a structure which is exceedingly strong and which will shed water. The vibration of the track is preferably simultaneous with the pouring of the concrete and the track is vibrated until there is no further settling of the stone and the concrete has thoroughly permeated the whole mass. The concrete will bond with the rails and ties and there will be no cracks or crevices along the rails and hence there will be no chance of water seeping in along the rails. After the concrete has hardened and set, further vibrations of the fails as a result of cars passing thereover will not destroy the bond between the concrete and rails orcause crevices along the rails. After the vibration has been continued for the proper length of time, the mass will assume about the level-shown in Fig. 4 and is allowed to harden and thoroughly set. The trench is then filled with a layer of surface material 15 which may consist of asphalt, concrete or any other suitable material. This upper layer of material is allowed to harden and set and the roadbed is complete.

It is of course understood that various changes may be made in the road forming 'ing disposed above the bottom of materials used and in the method of arranging the various parts in position as well as in the manner of delivering the concrete or other material and in the manner of vibrating thetrack, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In this specification I have used the term concrete. However, by this term I do not wish to be limited to any specific mixture of sand, cement, stone or other material but have used the term genericallyto mean any mixture of a bonding material such as cement or asphalt with sand, gravel or stone or other material. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is limited only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims. It is also understood that my method is not limited to any particular type of tie or to a tie,formed of any particular material, although a better bond is obtained when metal ties are used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the traclgarranging a plurality of steel ties within the trench with the rails secured thereto, said rails being disposed above the bottom of the trench, substantially filling the trench with loose stone,

pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and vibrating the rails until the concrete thoroughly permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties.

2. The methodof forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of steel ties within the trench with the rails secured thereto, said rails being disposed abovethe bottom of the trench. substantially filling the trench with loose stone,

pouring soft concrete on the loose stone andvibrating the rails until the concrete thoroughly permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties and continuing such v-ibration until the mass thus formedhas set. v

3. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of steel ties within the trench with the rails secured thereto, said rails bethe trench, substantially filling the trench with loose stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and vibrating the rails until the concrete thoroughly permeates the. stone and bonds with the rails and ties and then filling the trench with a layer of road forming material. I

4. The steps in the method of forming a roadbed for railways which consist in providing a trench and laying the track therein,

substantially filling the trench with loose particles of stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and simultaneously vibrating the track until the soft concrete permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties.

5. The steps in the methodpf forming a roadbed for railways which consist in providing a trench and. laying the tracktherein, substantially filling the trench with loose particles of stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and simultaneously vibrating track until the soft concrete permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties and continuing such Vibration until the mass thus formed has set.

6. The steps in the method'of forming a roadbed for railways which consist in providing a trench and laying the track therein,

' I substantially filling the trench with loose particles .of stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and simultaneously. vibrating the track until the soft concrete permeates'the aastone and bonds with the rails and ties and then filling the trench forming material. 7

7. The steps in the method of forming a roadbed for railways which consist in providing a trench and laying the track therein,

substantially filling the trench with loose particles of stone, pouring soft concrete on with a layer of road the loose stone and vibrating the track until the soft concrete permeates the stone and so bonds with the rails and ties.

8. The steps in the method of forming a roadbed for railways hich consist in providing a trench and laying the track therein, substantially filling the trench with loose particles of stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and vibrating the track until the soft concrete permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties and continuing such vibration until the mass thus formed has set.

9. The steps in the method of forming a roadbed for railways which consist in pro- .viding a trench and laying the track therein, substantially filling the trench with loose particles of stone, pouring soft concrete on the loose stone and vibratmg the'track until the soft concrete permeates the stone and bonds with the rails and ties and then filling the trench with a layer 'of road forming material. i y

10. The method of forming a roadbed for railways'which consists in laying the track and filling the space between and adjacent the rails with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the layer of stone and vibrating the rails to'cause the concrete to permeate the layer of stone.

11. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in. laying the track and filling the space between and adjacent the rails with particles of stone, depositing:v

- concrete on the layer of stone and vibrating the rails to cause the concrete to permeate the layer of stone and continuing such vibration until the concrete has set.

rails to cause the concrete to permeate the layer of stone and continuing suchvibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the layer of stone and bonded with the rails.

13. The method offorming a roadbed for railways which consists in laying the track and filling the space between and adjacent the rails with particles of stone; depositing concrete on the layer of stone and vibrating the rails to cause the concrete to permeate the layer of stone and continuing such'vibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the layer of stone and bonded with the rails and allowing the mass thus formed to harden and set and then applying a layer of surface material.

14. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of ties within the trench at intervals, securing the rails to the ties, filling the trench with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the layer of stone and vibrating the rails to cause the concrete to flow through the stone.

15. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which'consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of ties within the trench at intervals, securing the rails to the ties, filling the trench with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the layer of stone and vibrating the rails to cause the concrete to flow through the stone and continuing such vibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the mass of stone and bonded with the rails.

16. The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of ties within the trench at intervals,

securing the rails to the ties, filling the trench with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the la er of stone and vibrating the rails to cause t e concrete to flow through the stone and continuing such vibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the stone.

17 The method of forming a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging a plurality of ties within the trench at intervals, securing the rails to the ties, filling the trench with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the la er of stone and vibratin the rails to cause the concrete to flow throng I the stone and continuing such vibration until the concrete has thoroughly permeated the stone and bonded with the rails.

18. The method of forming'a roadbed for railways which consists in providing a trench of greater width than the track, arranging-a plurality of metal ties within the trench at intervals, securing the rails to the ties, filling the trench with particles of stone, depositing concrete on the layer of stone and vibratin the rails to cause the concrete to flow throug the-stone and continuing such vibration until the concrete has substantially filled all voids in the stoneand bonded with the rails and ties.

In testimon signature.

y whereof, I hereunto eflii: my

' e P; DAY. 

